“I didn’t say you were, but why the hell would you send a young girl and her brother away? There had to be a small part of you that recognized she was frantic.”

  “Your son wasn’t with her, and Rachel has thought to play me before, Autumn. But it’s neither here nor there. I can take you to her now, and then we can find your boy.”

  Keaton reached for her arm when she shifted away. The reverberating growl of the woman’s guardian sent a chill along his nerve endings. Slowly, he lifted his hands in the air, showing the beast he meant no harm.

  “Sorry, lady. I acted before I thought,” he said with a cautious glance at the monster dog.

  “Same old Keaton,” she said. Her eyes had cooled, and the disgusted look on her beautiful face told him she hated his counterpart from her world.

  “Actually, I’m not. I care very much about my wife and children. I was just going to ask you how we could get through the portal as easily as you did.”

  Her laugh was brittle. “You already did, bud. Your entire group crossed the boundary, straight into my clearing. Why do you think you stumbled into my traps?”

  “Wait! What?” Autumn’s skin turned ghostly pale. “We’re on your plane? All of us?”

  When the alternate-reality Spring nodded, Keaton and Autumn shared a horrified look.

  “Who went through to our side?” they asked in unison.

  “If I had to guess, more of Philomena’s puppies,” Gothica replied.

  The three-headed beast let out a mournful cry.

  “Puppies?”

  “Like the one you entered with. That’s one of hers.”

  “That thing’s a puppy?” Keaton gaped at the animal in question, then did a headcount of their group. “So if nine souls crossed here, nine acid-dripping puppies went there?”

  “Well, at least five of them. That’s all the puppies she had. Cerberuses have litters in multiples of three. You had one, and the other five are missing. It’s why I came to the clearing to look for them.”

  “But that’s not enough!” Keaton’s insides churned. They didn’t have a way to notify Coop of the potential problem. “What the hell else did we send through?”

  15

  “I’m sorry for punching you in the face,” Autumn said a few minutes later as Gothica spread a salve on her back. The woman refused to use actual magic to heal her, stating she’d shunned using it unless she had no choice.

  “I probably deserved it,” Gothica replied shortly.

  “You didn’t. I’ve got a hair-trigger temper, and I’m itching to find my kids.”

  Silence greeted her comment, but the fingers on her back gentled.

  “Why are you estranged from the family, Gothica?”

  The other woman choked off a laugh. “Gothica?”

  “Sorry. You’ve got the whole goth thing going, with the black clothes and chunky-heeled shit stompers. The name helps me keep you and my sister, uh, the other Spring, separate in my mind.”

  “Gothica.” A snort sounded behind her. “Fitting.”

  “So? The family thing?”

  The woman took a long moment to screw the lid on her salve tin, then another to put it in the messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Just when Autumn thought she wouldn’t answer, Gothica said, “I think my life was probably a little harder than your sister’s.”

  Autumn scoffed. “I doubt that.”

  “Did your parents cast her out for dabbling in the dark arts?” As if she understood she was being waspish, Gothica cleared her throat. “When you have an insatiable mind, you want to know everything. I fell in with a group of rebellious witches who believed the Authority was made up of a bunch of asshats determined to mind control us.”

  “You believe in mind control?” Autumn asked disbelievingly. Her gaze met solemn jade eyes.

  “No. But it was nice to have the freedom to do what I wanted instead of what was expected. Of what came with the Thorne name.” Gothica focused on the leather tie attached to the bag, working it until Autumn was convinced it would tear off. “There were other beings with capabilities far beyond those of an average witch, and I needed to know how that worked. Why they were given certain gifts over others.”

  Gothica’s passion for knowledge was reflected in her voice. The longing to learn, evident in the searching glance she cast Spring’s way.

  “You’re misunderstood.” Autumn didn’t mean to blurt it, but it surprised her to see the lost, lonely person her own sister might’ve been had she not received guidance. “But where were the rest of us? Where was I? Summer? Winnie?”

  “I don’t know anyone named Summer. Winnie?” A quicksilver flash of pain crossed her face. “If you mean our sister, Winter, she left a long time ago. When I was still a kid. No one’s heard from her in years.”

  “Summer doesn’t exist?” An ache started in Autumn’s chest. What would her life have been without their fourth sister? The sunshine and laughter Summer added to their lives were immeasurable. “There were only the three of us?”

  Gothica nodded. “This world’s Autumn hooked up with Keaton right out of college, and Winnie took off in high school. And our parents left for an extended tour of Europe, where they died. It’s just me. Whenever I tried to tag along with Autumn and Keaton, she sent me home.”

  “Jesus, hon. I’m so sorry.” LJ caught her attention in the distance as he gestured toward the direction of Thorne Manor. “What about him? He seems pretty cool.”

  “He tried to take me in, but his wife’s a bit of a bitch.”

  “His wife is our mother in my world,” Autumn replied with a hard laugh. “The one with the short black hair, just there, talking to Uncle Alastair and LJ.”

  “Who’s LJ?”

  “Lumberjack Alastair. It’s the flannel shirt and beard. He’s made it way too easy for me to nickname him.”

  Gothica laughed, and the sound was as sweet as Spring’s, but it was short-lived, as if the woman surprised herself with her display of amusement. But a wicked grin lingered, and she said, “That name is totally going to stick after you’re gone.”

  Autumn fist bumped her. “That’s what I’m talking about. Now, how about we find my kids, then you and I can have a sit-down and chat about what we can do to make your life better?”

  “What’s wrong with my life?”

  As far as accidentally stepping in shit went, Autumn had jumped in with both feet. “I didn’t mean it quite like it sounded. Only that I want to be sure you have everything you need. Maybe help you get rid of any darkness from the black arts so you can feel free to use your abilities as intended.”

  With a grudging nod, Gothica led the way back to the others in Autumn’s group.

  “When I saw Ra—uh, Chloe, she was wearing a blue top and jeans. There was a hole in one knee and twigs in her hair, but other than that, she seemed to be okay.”

  “Which direction did she run off to?”

  “The Carlyle cabin.”

  “Cabin? Not estate?” Keaton asked sharply.

  “Estate?” Gothica laughed again, and it was pure hilarity. “Those good-for-nothing Carlyles couldn’t be bothered with the upkeep of an estate.” Her perfect nose scrunched as she eyed Keaton, who had been silent until now. “Sorry, bud, but it’s true.”

  Keaton opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he’d intended to say was cut short when the ground beneath them rumbled.

  A child’s angry scream sounded in the distance, and the trembling earth shook harder.

  “Jolyon!” Alastair shouted over the roar of the earthquake. “We have to get his anklet back on him.”

  Staggering and scrambling to maintain her footing, Autumn bolted for the trees, screaming her son’s name.

  16

  “Can you mitigate the quake?” Alastair shouted his question to the two Springs. “Work together to stop or lessen the effect of Jolyon’s temper tantrum?”

  Keaton stared. Or he would’ve had he not been watching for falling trees. “How do you know it’s a temper—” Holding up a hand, he shook his head. “Forget it,” he hollered over the noise. “Empath. I get it. You can feel him all this way, or was it the scream?”

  “Both.”

  The ground stopped rumbling, and the sudden stillness was eerie as hell. As was the silence. Keaton ran toward the direction Autumn had taken, hoping to find his wife and children. Before entering the woods, he caught a flash of blue from the corner of his eye. The same color shirt as his daughter had been wearing just that morning.

  Veering right, he jogged through the woods. “Chloe?”

  When his daughter lifted her dirty, tear-stained face, Keaton’s heart spasmed and went into overdrive. He rushed forward, only to stop when trepidation filled her eyes and her mouth contorted to scream.

  “Chloe?”

  “You’re not my dad,” she cried, scrambling backward and colliding with the tree trunk she’d been curled against.

  “Yes, I am.” Keaton held up his hands and slowly approached. “Why wouldn’t you think so?”

  “You’re trying to trick me again.”

  Again? What the actual fuck?

  “Who tricked you, sweetheart? Someone who looked like me?”

  A frown marred her young visage, and she slowly edged her head sideways to survey the area around them. When she glanced back at him, she paid special attention to his clothes and hair.

  Still, she remained silent on the subject of trickery, as if she didn’t trust him.

  “Midge, it’s me. I promise.”

  “Daddy?” Her deep honey-colored eyes flew wide as she jumped up and rushed into his arms.

  Sobs wracked her slender frame as she apologized over and over in a discombobulated babble. As much as he needed to find Autumn and Jolly, he also needed to let Chloe give into her deeper feelings and not try to shut her down. She’d survived a terrifying experience, and as the adult who’d aged ten years in the hours she was gone, he had to rein in his own emotions to allow for hers.

  As he held her, he sent a big fucking “thank you” to the deities who’d been watching over her. Other than her apparent upset, she appeared to have weathered her mishap physically.

  Chloe’s tears slowed, and she got control of her hiccuping sobs. When only sniffles were left, he drew away to study her distraught countenance.

  “All good, sweetheart?”

  She nodded, but the tragic eyes she turned on him told a different story.

  “Want to talk about it as we go find your mom and Jolly?”

  “Mom’s here?”

  “She is.” He grinned and tweaked a lock of her lank hair. “You didn’t think she’d leave you to your own devices, do you?”

  “I thought she’d be mad about, er, Jolly.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Her gaze dropped to the dirt, and she gave a one-shouldered shrug so similar to Autumn’s, he had to chuckle. She’d definitely picked up on his wife’s mannerisms since Autumn came to live with them. But he wasn’t surprised. She’d been Chloe’s hero from the moment she sacrificed herself in the Otherworld so Chloe and Derrick could return home unscathed.

  “Chloe?”

  “I didn’t think it would be bad to let him conjure a dog. He was scared, and I thought it might protect us when you and Mom weren’t around.”

  Keaton had to check his immediate irritation at her accusatory tone. It felt unfounded. Wasn’t she the one who always begged for more responsibility, insisting she was capable of caring for Jolly? “But I was only in the barn, midge.”

  “People can break in. Bad people who hate witches,” she argued.

  Understanding dawned.

  A few years back, she’d believed she was safe in the park until she was approached by one of the Thornes’ greatest enemies. The man had tried to abduct her that day, and if it weren’t for Chloe’s friend Derrick and fast action on the Thornes’ part, the guy would’ve succeeded. Although nothing like that had happened in the intervening years, she still worried it might.

  “So, how about, when we get home, we adopt a dog?” he suggested with an indulgent smile.

  Her eyes flew wide in her incredulity. “You mean it?”

  “As long as it’s okay with your mom, I don’t see why not.”

  “Oh, Daddy!” She flung herself at him, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck, and although she was choking the shit out of him with her gratitude, he didn’t mind. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  Just as dark spots danced behind his lids, he knew it was time to end their embrace. He’d be no use to anyone if he passed out from lack of air. Detangling himself, he swept her up and tossed her onto his back.

  “Hang on, midge. We need to find the others.”

  He turned in time to see Gothica watching them with a bemused expression.

  “You’re not going to put us in a bubble again, are you?” he asked.

  Her brows slammed together until she realized he was teasing. Wonder lit her face, and her gaze darted between him and Chloe.

  “You’re so different from the one here,” she said softly, almost sweetly.

  “Yeah, well, I’d like to have words with that dickhead before I leave.” Keaton turned his head slightly to address his daughter. “Never repeat what I said. You shouldn’t call people names.”

  “Even if they are a dickhead?” Gothica quipped, showing Keaton she had a sense of humor to match Spring’s.

  “She’s allowed to think it, but not say it. Not until she’s an adult, anyway.”

  Chloe giggled in his ear, but sobered as Gothica approached.

  “I’d like to apologize, Chloe,” the woman said. “I believed you were my niece playing an inappropriate prank. If I’d have known you entered the portal and were lost, I would never have turned you away.”

  “Really?” Chloe asked, wariness in her voice.

  “Really.” Holding out a hand, Gothica smiled. “Will you forgive me?”

  Reaching across Keaton’s shoulder, his daughter accepted the offered hand and apology. “Thank you, Miss Spring.”

  Gothica’s smile widened. “Let’s go find your family.”

  As they trudged through the woods, Keaton thought about how bizarrely different their two worlds were. Pondered how their alternate-reality counterparts could be so drastic in personality from those on their side, to the point of leaving children to survive on their own without help. It was sad.

  Chloe’s arms tightened, warning him of trouble, and he shifted to shoot her a questioning look. Turning his head to the left, he noticed his doppelganger leaning drunkenly against a tree. As Keaton paused, so did the other man, and the beer bottle in his hand was suspended mid drink. His face was bloated from excess, and his blue eyes were flat.

  “What did he say to you, midge?”

  “He told me to stop crying like a baby and get lost. He called me Rachel. Like Miss Spring.”

  Setting her on the ground, he curled a hand around her nape and drew her close. After pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he said, “Stay here, sweetheart. I’m going to have a word with myself.”

  Gothica’s grin transformed her pretty face to stunningly beautiful, and Keaton realized what had been missing: her twin’s sweet, fun-loving personality. With a wink in her direction, he headed off toward the asshole version of himself.

  “Hey, dickhead,” he said in a patently false friendly tone.

  The Neanderthal Keaton scowled and straightened from holding the tree up. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Father of the little girl you were a fucking asshole to, and I’d like to talk to you about that.”

  Without another word, Keaton clocked him.

  17

  Finding Jolyon wasn’t difficult. Autumn simply followed his bellows until she caught sight of his light. A woman, the replica of her mother, was squatting next to him, dangling a half-peeled banana and trying to soothe him. When she caught sight of Autumn, wariness took the place of the stress stamped on her classical features.

  “Oh! It’s you. I’m not certain who the little guy is, but I’ve been trying to charm him for the last few hours. Initially, it worked, but I’m afraid he requires food and a nap.”

  Her accent was an odd combination of British and American, and her long black hair was swept back in a French braid. She also wore no makeup, but it didn’t detract from her natural beauty or her peaches-and-cream complexion. Autumn experienced an odd vertigo from seeing her mother’s clone.

  “He dislikes bananas,” Autumn replied inanely. A feeling of embarrassment began to take hold as she stared at Angelica Thorne. A good mother would’ve seen to her child first, but all Autumn could do was stare. Seeing this carbon copy of her mother was disconcerting.

  “And he’s made it bloody well known,” Angelica replied with a weary grimace. “I’m not sure how you would know that, though, Autumn. Or why you of all people should care.” Coldness crept into the other woman’s tone, and oddly, it stung to be misjudged by a person whose twin she adored beyond measure.

  “I’m not who you believe me to be. I’m⁠—”

  “Mama! Mama!” Jolly screamed, flailing his arms in her direction. “Mama!”

  His cry broke the spell holding her in place. Rushing forward, Autumn scooped him into her arms, holding tight to his compact body and breathing in the scent of his sweaty hair.

  “Hey, fry guy. Mama’s here. Mama’s here.” Tears stung the back of her closed lids, and she silently vowed to do better. Swore to protect him from incidents like this in the future. “I’m sorry, Jolly. Mama’s sorry you were lost.”

  “Who are you, if not Autumn Carlyle?” Angelica asked. Some of her icy disdain had disappeared, having been replaced by curiosity.

  “Actually, I am Autumn Carlyle, but not from your world. Right now, I don’t have time to explain, but just know I brought LJ back to you.”

  “LJ?”

  “She’s been calling me that since we met, darlin’,” he said as he approached. With a humorous glance in Autumn’s direction, he grinned. “She said the flannel makes me look like a lumberjack.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9